I was watching Tony Robbins, the motivational guru, and Magic Johnson, basketball legend-turned-entrepreneur on Larry King last night.

They were weighing in on President Obama’s Job Summit. As entrepreneurs, they had interesting insight on the current economic crisis that should interest every American, particularly those who may be struggling and facing foreclosure.

What Does a Jobless Recovery Mean for Americans Facing Foreclosure?

In order to understand what a jobless recovery means for Americans facing foreclosure – and others who may just be struggling due to job loss, let’s first define it so that we’re all on the same page.

What is a Jobless Recovery?

According to Wikipedia, a jobless recovery or jobless growth is a phrase used by economists, especially in the United States, to describe the recovery from a recession which does not (emphasis added) produce strong growth in employment; ie, a recovery that does not produce a lot of new jobs.

On a historical note, the first documented use of the term was in the New York Times in the 1930s during the Great Depression.

What Does a Jobless Recovery Mean for Americans Who are Losing Their Homes to Foreclosure?

. . . many of the jobs that have been lost are not coming back (eg, manufacturing in middle America). . . . Many of these workers accustomed to working in factories and bring home decent paychecks are now going to have to be retrained for new careers . . . Unless these workers take the initiative to retrain themselves for new careers, they may not only lose their homes, but they may lose their livelihood for good.

Tony Robbins and Magic Johnson passionately expounded on this in their Larry King Appearance, practically begging Americans to accept the fact that they must buy into a new way of thinking about things.

Instead of waiting around for the government to offer incentives to small businesses to start hiring again, they need to start thinking like entrepreneurs, ie, what goods and services are needed; what is my skill set; and how might I may be able to provide them.

The CEO of Google, Eric, Schmidt, was also a guest. He put this idea into concrete terms, offering an example of turning a hobby into an online business. For example, he said, if you liked fishing, perhaps you could turn your love for the sport into a business by building a niche site about it and earning income from the site.

Stop Foreclosure: The Bottom Line for Jobless Americans

In case you haven’t already gotten the message, the old days of depending on an outside entity like the government or an employer to keep the roof over your head is so 20th century. Today’s employee has to be nimble and think like an entrepreneur.

As the editor of this blog and a seasoned entrepreneur who wears many hats I can tell you – you must have a Plan B. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, always have more than one thing at a time going on.

While it may seem like scattered thinking to some, it’s a way to insulate yourself from the ups and downs of layoffs, downsizing and being at the all-around mercy of a single employer.